Concussion Confessions
by RBCrazyFan
Summary: McSwarek - when the takedown doesn't go as planned, Sam is there for Andy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. - A friend gave me a challenge - write about Andy getting hurt during the takedown and what happens when she has to go to the hospital (even though we're both pretty sure this doesn't happen). I struggled with it and was thinking of posting it as a prompt on TWC...then I was talking to someone about a football game and they mentioned a concussion and this just popped into my head (thankfully he's okay).

A.N.2 - Thankfully I know nothing about the medical issues that take place. Any medical mistakes that I've written are my own (and hopefully I'll never know of this stuff).

Big THANK YOU to margie311 - that conversation was the kick in the behind that I needed to finish this.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sam glanced at the files one last time as people filed into the Parade Room. He was thankful that he had managed to make sure that everyone close to them was not on this particular night shift, with the exception of Gail. She had switched at the last second and he didn't have a choice.

Traci knew that the bust was going to happen, but caved when Sam explained that Jerry would tell her the same. It was her week with Leo and it was important for her to be there with her son. Even though it was a late night bust, he told her that if Leo woke, he would want Traci. The paperwork for the bust could take hours and there was a chance that she wouldn't be home when Leo woke up for the day. So she left, with strict instructions for him to call when everything was over.

Detective Watson was working with him on the case. The two of them worked well together. Watson was happy to sit behind the desk (he had been injured on a case) while Sam needed action. Sam was running the show out in the field and would then hand over the case as soon as they got to the barn.

Sam walked into the room and slapped the pictures on the board. He heard Gail give a small gasp and saw some raised eyebrows but no one said anything. "As some of you may know, Officers Collins and McNally disappeared a few months ago to work undercover for Callaghan on Project Dakota. There is going to be a mass takedown today, shutting down the entire operation. We're shutting down one of the smaller parts.

"Remember, McNally and Collins are there but you cannot talk to them like friends. Arrest them with the others. If they run, chase after them. And most importantly, don't shoot blindly, we need them back in this division." He stopped and glanced around.

"Detective?" one of the officers in the back called out. "Do they know that we're coming today?"

_Flashback_

"_You ready for this Swarek?"_

_Sam nodded. "Yeah. And before you ask, I know, even if it's her I can't say anything more than the message." He slipped out of the car and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head._

_He jogged for two blocks and then hid in the shadows. In case someone was watching, he pulled out his cell phone and faked dialling before pressing the phone to his ear._

_Less than two minutes later, a man turned the corner and walked towards him._

_Sam gave a small sigh of relief. As much as he wanted it to be her, it was easier with Nick. As Nick came near, he started to talk. "Within a week, ten days tops. We can't screw this up." The plan was for him to pretend to listen to a voice on the other end as Nick strolled past._

_Nick surprised him. As soon as he passed Sam, he bent down to tie his shoe. "She really misses you," he murmured softly._

_Sam froze momentarily and then said "thank you, we'll be in touch," into the phone as Nick stood._

_Sam waited for Nick to round the next corner before bolting to the car. "Collins is an idiot," he told Watson as soon as he was safely inside with the door closed. "Tell your people to follow him until he reaches the cover apartment."_

_Watson reached for the radio and gave the command without a question._

_End Flashback_

Sam shook his head. "No. They know that it is within a week but the takedown has been pushed off three times already. We don't have time to discuss this. You have your assignments. Get out there and wait for my signal."

* * *

He didn't drive his own car. Instead, he slipped into the squad car with Gail. Technically she should have been driving with a T.O. but Oliver and Marlo were both off duty.

He waited until they were a block away before speaking. "If I can, I'll try to make sure you have a chance to talk to him at some point."

"Why would I want that?"

"Gail..." He owed it to Nick so even if Gail didn't want it, it would happen.

"No, he just picked up and left, without a goodbye. We were together, he could have at least left a note or something." She pulled up and killed the engine. "Why is there an ambulance here?"

"It's a takedown. People can get hurt. I'd rather have them here than have to wait for them to arrive."

Gail sighed. "How long do we have to wait?"

Sam pulled out his phone. "Waiting for Callaghan's signal." He glanced at his watch. He knew that the bust was supposed to take place 'around midnight' - whatever that meant. They were both quiet until his phone buzzed and he reached for the radio. "Stack it up outside the building and wait for my signal."

* * *

Andy glanced at Nick. She had a gut feeling that today was the day. She was tired of undercover. She wanted to see her friends, she wanted to see her parents, she wanted to go back to the streets. She missed everything about her life and had a feeling that this would be her first and last deep cover assignment. She couldn't go this long without her life again.

They were at the warehouse sorting through goods when she thought she heard something. She didn't have time to process what it was before the doors flew open and men and women with guns and vests ran in screaming "POLICE" and to get down on the ground.

* * *

He was not one of the first ones in but he still saw it happen. In the pandemonium after they entered the warehouse, Andy was knocked against a wall. She went down and didn't get up.

He cursed internally and made sure he was covered before moving towards her. He called out to the other officers to start loading the vans, seeing as they had most of the men and women from the warehouse in custody. He waited for the "room clear" call before calling over the radio to send in the medics because they had one woman down.

He knelt next to Andy and felt for her pulse. He swallowed his sigh of relief when he felt it. The medics ran in and quickly checked her out before loading her into a stretcher. One of them muttered that it looked like a concussion but he wasn't sure why she wasn't awake yet.

Sam cuffed her to the stretcher before following them out. Outside, it was not as chaotic as he thought it would be. The officers were loading everyone into vans. He called out to one of the more senior officers that he was going to accompany 'the perp' to the hospital.

Suddenly Nick started struggling against the officer holding him. "She's my sister! I need to be with her."

Sam looked around. "Peck!" he yelled. "Take the brother in your squad car. Find out her medical history so that the doctors know what they're dealing with." He silently thanked Nick for yelling. It would get Nick "processed" before anyone else was brought in.

Gail shot him a nasty look as the doors to the ambulance closed.

Once in the ambulance, Sam waited until they were two blocks away before uncuffing her. The medic in the back with him started to protest. "She's an undercover cop," Sam said softly before turning to look at her. "C'mon McNally, you need to wake up." He gently touched her cheek, feeling some of the tension in his body fall away as he touched her. "Please Andy, wake up."

* * *

When they reached the hospital, the ER doctor rushed to meet them. He rolled Andy into a room and motioned for a small waiting room where Sam could sit.

Sam sat and rubbed his tired face for a few minutes before realizing that he needed to get ahold of Tommy and Traci. He decided to call Traci first - she was better at delivering news.

"Sam, is it over?" Her tone was breathless, like she had run to the phone. He wondered if she slept at all since he sent her home.

"Yeah, it's over."

"You back at the station?"

"No..." he didn't know how to tell her.

"Sam?" His tone scared her. "Then where are you?"

"Hospital. Andy hit her head during the bust. I'm waiting for a doctor to update me."

"Which hospital?"

"St. Pats."

"My Mom will watch Leo, I'll be there soon."

"Traci?" He hoped she hadn't disconnected yet. "Can you call Tommy?"

"He's on vacation without reception. I'll call and leave him a message." She hung up.

* * *

Traci arrived shortly after they hung up. He wondered how many laws she broke in the rush but decided against chastising her. After all, had he been in her place, he probably would have done the same. Dov and Chris showed up as well so he knew she must have called them.

A minute later a doctor appeared. "Are any of you Nick?" he asked.

Traci and Sam shared a look and Traci mouthed "go" to him.

Sam stood. "What's going on?"

"She woke up. We need to run some tests but she won't calm down. We can't sedate her until we've ruled a concussion out and right now I'm leaning towards the fact that she does have a concussion."

Sam nodded and followed the doctor to Andy. He knew that the doctor didn't believe him but he didn't care. He just needed to see Andy.

As soon as they reached the room, he heard her struggling. "No, get off of me. Where's Nick?"

Sam knocked on the door and entered the room. "McNally."

She looked up at him. "Sam, where's Nick? Is he okay?"

Sam stepped closer to the bed and touched her hand for a second before pulling away, not knowing how she would react. "Andy, he's fine. He's with Gail right now. You need to calm down and let the doctors check you out to make sure you're okay. You hit your head pretty hard." He turned to go. He knew how it worked. The doctors needed to work without him in the room.

Andy reached out and grabbed his hand before he could leave. "Sam," she whispered.

"I'll be right outside. I just have to go give an update to your friends."

She looked towards the window and saw darkness. "Tell them to go home. It's late."

Sam nodded. "Will do." He smirked at her. "Behave!" He walked out before she could respond.

* * *

It was a while before he was allowed back to see her. They moved her to a private room and the doctor caught him before he entered the room.

Sam was quick to apologize to the doctor for lying.

The doctor waved away his apology. "You're her emergency contact after her father. We would have called you anyway. The lady in the waiting room explained to my nurse that Ms. McNally was undercover."

Sam nodded. "Nick was her undercover partner. I guess she thought she was still undercover." He ran his hand through his hair. "How is she?"

"Tests came back fine but she has a concussion and I want to keep her for observation for at least 24 hours. She came in two hours ago so we'll be waking her every three hours at hours five, eight, etcetera. She's awake right now but she's fighting sleep."

"Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded and led Sam to Andy's room. He motioned for Sam to enter.

Sam slipped into the room. Andy looked up at him. "Sam..."

"How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "My head hurts and I'm tired."

"I know. The doctor said you could sleep. They'll wake you every three hours. And they have to keep you for at least 24 hours but if you ask me, it'll be longer because the 24 hour mark is in the middle of the night."

She reached for his hand and squeezed it lightly. "I would have come you know," she said softly.

"I know." He didn't know if he fully believed her. After six months, it would be easy to say she would have come, especially after Nick's little hint that she had missed him, but it didn't truly mean that she would have shown up. "I'll be here the entire time so you can stop fighting sleep."

"No," she whispered. "You have to go home to sleep."

Sam sighed. He knew she would insist and she really needed to sleep. "Fine, when your friends come to sit with you I'll go home and get some rest."

"Okay." Her eyes started to close. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me one favor? Don't ask me the stupid questions like my name and the date."

Sam chuckled. "Only you McNally, only you." He glanced at her and noticed that she was asleep with her hand still encased within his. He used his foot to pull a chair closer to the bed. Then, before he sat down, he did something that was completely out of character for him before she came into his life. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly. "I'm glad you're back and I'm going to fight for us," he said quietly. He settled in the chair with his phone, ready to pass the next three hours.

* * *

_**Hour 5 - Sarah**_

He was awake when the doctor came in. The doctor looked at him. "Three facts. She might fight you about it."

Sam nodded and then touched Andy's cheek. "McNally? Andy?"

She swatted him. "I'm sleeping."

"I know. I need you to open your eyes for a minute and answer some questions."

"Saaaaaaaaaaaam," she whined.

"I know," he coaxed, "just open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered and then opened.

"Hey," he said softly. "What's my sister's name?"

"Saaaaaaam," she whined again.

"Humor me McNally, what's my sister's name?"

"Sarah, but I don't know much about her. I mean, I know that she lives in St. Catharines and that she was attacked when she was 13 and you were 9, but I don't know much more than that. I don't know if she's married, I don't know if she has kids, hell, I don't know if you have any other siblings, I don't know if your parents are still alive, I don't know anything." She stopped and swallowed before closing her eyes. "I'm really tired Sam."

"I know," he replied softly. "Sleep."

The doctor started to protest but Sam held up his hand and until he was sure that Andy was asleep. "She gave me more than three facts."

"Really? That was one question."

Sam shrugged. "She's a talker. Lot's of facts - my sister is Sarah, she lives in St. Catharines, she was attacked when she was 13, the list goes on."

The doctor sighed. "Fine. I'll be back in three hours. You should try to sleep." He knew better than to suggest that Sam leave.

Sam drifted off, thinking about all the other one word prompts he could use and what sorts of responses he could get out of her, especially considered he was pretty sure that she wouldn't remember their conversations.

* * *

A.N. ummm, yeah, this was supposed to be a one-shot but I'm still working on some of Sam's "prompts" so I decided to post it as a two-shot.

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue.

A.N. Sorry for the long delay. I'm really struggling with the turnout of one of the last ones - HUGE thank you to LAwoman for the kick in the behind that I needed - thanks to her y'all are getting this chapter now and then hopefully I'll be inspired and figure out what I don't like and the last part will be posted soon.

Thank you for all the reviews/alerts/favorites.

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Hour 8 - Oliver**_

Sam woke when someone touched his shoulder. He looked up and saw a nurse. "The doctor said I should ask you if you wanted to ask her the questions again."

Sam nodded and rotated his neck to try to alleviate some of the stiffness. "Yeah."

The nurse smiled. "Hit the call button if there's a problem."

Sam waited for her to leave before gently touching Andy's shoulder. "McNally."

"Mhhh?"

"I need you to open your eyes for me for a minute to answer some questions."

"Questions are stupid," she muttered without opening her eyes.

"I know." He smiled. He wondered how much, if anything, she would remember. "But I still need you to open your eyes or the doctor is going to come in." He hoped the threat worked. He knew that she hated doctors as much as he did.

Her eyes opened. "Happy now?"

"Keep them open for a minute. Who was your first training officer?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You know that!"

"Humor me."

"Oliver Shaw. Married to Zoe Shaw. They have three girls." She shifted to look at him. "You know, maybe I should talk to Izzy. You know, cop daughter to cop daughter. Talk to her about it. There's so much pressure when you get older, so much fear. It causes you to act out. She went with blue hair, I had my purple phase but it's hard to be the daughter of a cop. So incredibly hard." She whispered the last line.

He had no idea what to say to her. He didn't fully understand what she was talking about. Luckily, she continued talking. "I'm so tired Sam. I barely slept for six months." She grabbed his hand as she spoke and he felt the trembling.

"Sleep," he whispered, squeezing her hand gently. He was so happy that she wanted the physical contact, he just hoped that it would last even when she remembered and wasn't dealing with a concussion.

"Will you stay?"

"Yes, now sleep."

She didn't need a second invitation, her eyes closed and her breathing evened out in seconds.

He knew that she was fully asleep when her hand relaxed in his own. He brushed her hand gently with his thumb as he contemplated what to do. He felt refreshed, even though he knew he would crash later. All he had was his cell phone. He was tempted to call someone to ask them to bring work for him but he didn't want to bother anyone. He knew how crazy it got right after a bust. No one would really have any time to spare.

There was a slight knock on the door. Sam looked up and saw Nick. He stood and made his way over to the door. He was a little surprised, then he realized that it was Andy's second 'wake up call.' They were probably sending Nick home to get some rest.

"How is she?"

"She'll be okay. She has a concussion and they want to monitor her for 24 hours."

Nick gave a sigh of relief. "Good. No one had any news about her." He paused for a second. "She really missed you, you know."

Sam raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Three nights after we started, she woke, screaming for you. She had a nightmare where you took the bomb from her and then it exploded."

Sam sighed. "I'm sorry."

Nick shook his head. "No. I eventually got her to tell me what happened after - how you two talked at the station. It made me realize that you really love her and are going to fight for her. I was able to convince her that you'd be waiting when she got back."

Sam sent up a silent prayer of thanks that he had nipped Marlo's attempt in the bud, not that he really wanted her. She would have just been a distraction but word would have gotten back to Andy. "What about you?"

Nick shrugged. "Gail's tough but I'll get through eventually. Thank you for giving me the chance to talk to her alone. She slipped out before I could catch her when I finished my interview."

Sam nodded. He had a feeling that Gail would do that. "You look exhausted. You need to sleep." When Nick started to protest, he held up his hand. "Trust me Collins. I've done deep covers. Go home. Sleep. You'll deal with everything else after you're rested. Don't set an alarm, let your body sleep."

Nick nodded. He knew from his many talks with Andy while they were under about how Sam had been in deep cover multiple times. "Yes sir." He reached down to grab a bag. "This is from Nash." He handed the bag to Sam and left.

Sam reentered the room and looked in the bag and saw a bunch of files that he had been working on before the bust. After a quick "you're a lifesaver" text to Traci, he settled down to work as Andy slept.

* * *

_**Hour 11 - Leo/Traci**_

Three hours later, Sam looked up when someone tapped on the door. He saw the doctor and stood. "How's she doing?" he asked softly.

The doctor smiled. "Everything looks good so far. Listen, I'm finishing up a double shift so one of my colleagues will probably pop in later to check on her. I'll be back tonight. You need to wake her again."

Sam nodded and thanked the doctor before moving towards the bed. "McNally?" he touched her shoulder.

She tried to swat him away.

"C'mon Andy. This will only take a minute. I need you to open your eyes."

"Why?" she whined as she opened her eyes.

Sam smirked. This was a side of her that he had never seen before and he found it cute except for the fact that he was worried about her. "What is the name of your best friend's son?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking about Leo? You've probably seen Traci in the last six months. I haven't." She sighed. "Poor little man. I shouldn't have left. First he loses Jerry, the man who was like a father to him and then I disappear. I'm his Aunty Andy. I shouldn't have left like that. I know Traci's mother helps out but Dex can be a royal pain. I left Traci to deal with that alone." She looked at him. "I'm a monster. Traci probably hates me."

Sam sighed. "You're not a monster and she doesn't hate you; she's worried about you. She was here until I sent her home to get some rest. And she didn't deal with it alone, plenty of people have been helping her." He wasn't about to tell her about all the times he had taken Leo for some 'man time' and the renovations he had done at Traci's home with Leo as his 'helper' - at least, not yet.

"Really?" Her eyes were fluttering and he could tell she was fighting sleep.

"Really. I'm sure she'll be back soon. Right now you need to rest."

Her eyes closed and her breathing evened out.

* * *

Less than ten minutes later, Traci slipped into the room. Sam grinned at her. They had grown closer once he became a detective and he saw what his best friend saw in her. He treated her like a sister, because that's what she would have become had Jerry lived, and with his relationship (which would hopefully be rekindled) with Andy, she still would become. "Andy was just asking about you."

Traci raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously. She was. She thinks you hate her for ditching you and Leo when you needed her. I think I convinced her otherwise and I don't think she's going to remember any of these conversations anyway."

Traci rolled her eyes. "Typical McNally style. I'll make sure she gets it - I don't hate her - when she's really awake. You should go home and get some rest Sam."

Sam nodded. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew he was going to crash at some point, might as well make it his own terms. "She was just awake, you'll need to wake her again in three hours because of the concussion."

Traci nodded. "I'll be fine. Oh, and her father won't be back until the end of the week. He can't push up his flight but I told him Andy's gonna be fine."

Sam nodded and left.

* * *

He didn't think that he would actually sleep but after stopping at the station, he crashed at his apartment. When he looked at the clock, he realized that he had been asleep for over four hours.

He jumped into the shower and then grabbed food. He grabbed a to-go cup and filled it with coffee and then headed back to the hospital.

He slipped in and glanced at the clock. It was almost 17 hours since Andy had been admitted. That meant it was almost time for another 'wake up call'. He couldn't wait to see what else she had to say. He selfishly hoped that Traci would have to go.

* * *

_**Hour 17 - Tommy/Claire**_

Traci looked up when he walked into the room. "I gotta go," she whispered, "but I didn't want to leave Andy alone."

"I've got it." Sam hid a smile. He was happy that he'd have Andy alone. "How was her last wake up call?"

Traci shrugged. "Fine. Chris, Dov, and Gail were also here when she woke up. She identified all of us by name, got up for a minute to walk around, and then fell asleep. Oliver also stopped by."

Sam nodded. "I figured they all would. Go home Traci. Say hi to Leo for me and tell him that I have a surprise for him tomorrow." He nodded his head at Andy.

Traci grinned. "He's going to be so happy to see her. Thank you for taking care of her Sam." She slipped out of the room.

A few minutes later a nurse entered. She looked at Andy's chart. "Everything looks fine so far. Are you going to ask her the questions?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. You don't need to be in here. I can page you if something is wrong."

The nurse looked like she was about to argue when a "code blue" sounded in the hallway. She quickly stepped out of the room.

Sam looked at Andy, thinking for a minute. He took a deep breath. This conversation could go one of two ways but he was curious to know what she really thought. He knew that every time they talked she held back. This was cheating but he wanted to know the truth.

"McNally?" He shook her shoulder gently.

Andy grabbed his hand from her shoulder and held it. "Sam, I'm sleeping."

"I know but I need you to open your eyes and answer some questions."

"Why?"

"Concussion. C'mon McNally. I'm sure you've had concussions before with all the sports you played growing up. You know the drill. Now open your eyes."

Andy opened her eyes and glared at him. "Happy now?"

Sam smirked. "Yes. Now, what is your father's name?"

Andy rolled her eyes. "Tommy McNally. And before you ask, my mother's name is Claire McNally. They got married at Niagara Falls and look how well that turned out. Then my mother left in the middle of the night. I didn't see her or speak to her for years. She claims that she tried to call, and my father said that she did, but she obviously didn't try hard enough. She obviously didn't want it bad enough or she would have figured out a way to see me. I mean, once I was old enough to be out of my father's house, why wouldn't she try? And as luck would have it, she's now a social worker and we bumped into her on a case. I'm trying to let her back into my life but Sam, sometimes I wonder if she's really the best person to be asking advice from."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" This conversation was not going the way he envisioned it - not in any way, shape, or form.

Andy swallowed. "She's the one who convinced me to go to Luke to ask for the Task Force. Had I not gone into his office earlier in the day, maybe he wouldn't've asked me. Maybe we could have started over. I blew it, didn't I?"

Sam sighed. "You didn't blow it Andy. I dropped the ball. And for the record, even if we had not broken up, I would have supported your decision to go. Undercover is hard but it can be rewarding."

"Really?" she whispered, fighting sleep.

"Really. Go back to sleep. We'll discuss this at another time when we can have a real conversation."

She was asleep before he finished the sentence.

Sam settled back into the chair. He had swapped out work when he went to the station but she was on his mind. He said he would support her, but would he have really wanted her to go, so soon after he lost Jerry? It was a point that he didn't want to ponder - it was a moot point already, but he had to be ready in case she brought it up again. With a sigh, he pushed the thought away and turned to his work. Frank had been understanding and as long as the word was completed, he didn't care where Sam got it done.

* * *

A.N. Okay...that last one did not go as planned - and I threw that line in.

Two more wake up calls and then Andy "wakes up for real" - can't wait to see her reaction.

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue

A.N. Thanks for all of the reviews. For those of you requesting Andy awake...um...what's the fun in that?

Thank you to vixenali for the Traci/Jerry suggestion - I got to talk about elephants!

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Hour 20 - Luke**_

Before he knew it, it was time to wake her again. The original doctor was back (he said something about pulling more shifts because his wife was out of town) and had come to check up on Andy. He looked over Andy's chart. "Looks good. She'll probably be discharged in the morning but she should stay with someone. Part of the reason that the medics had trouble waking her was because she was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration."

Sam nodded. He would talk to Andy about it and he made a mental note to talk to Nick as well. He knew from experience that undercover messed with the body - he lost weight on all of his undercover missions. If Andy didn't want to stay with him (or him to stay with her, if she requested to go to her apartment), he would talk to Traci about staying with her. Someone had to make sure that she ate and drank properly or she would land right back in the hospital. He knew how much she hated hospitals and he planned to use that to his advantage when they had a conversation about someone staying with her.

Once the doctor walked out, he gently touched Andy's shoulder. "McNally?"

He knew something was off by her moan. Her eyes slowly opened and she croaked "Sam" before her hand flew to her mouth.

He grabbed a small basin from the bedside table and held it up to her. Andy closed her eyes in embarrassment and hurled.

Sam held the basin with one hand. With his other hand, he rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay Andy. Everything's going to be okay." As he rubbed her back, he couldn't help but think of a time in the future where he hoped to do the same. He had always been the guy who was going to be the _awesome uncle _but it was only after Andy came into his life that he started to think about a family. As much as he hated the idea of her being sick, he couldn't wait to see their future children since he knew that children was always in the cards for her.

When Andy finished, she leaned back into the pillows with her eyes closed. "Sorry," she whispered.

Sam sighed and pulled his hand away to grab a cup of water. "Nothing to be sorry about McNally. Here." He handed her the cup. He watched as she rinsed her mouth and then downed the rest of the water. "I still need to ask you questions."

"Why? I'm tired."

"Because you have a concussion and I need to make sure you're okay."

"Always watching out for me." She opened her eyes. "Fine."

"Who informed you that you were going under?" He knew he had no right to give her this prompt but once again, curiosity got the best of him.

"Luke." She sighed. "You were right about him. He's married to his job. It's even worse now that he has the task force but honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry Sam. He's a great detective but I lied to myself about him. I accepted the ring that I found even though it was too big. I let him lead me with everything, I didn't make my own decisions. It was easier to just get a house with him, easier to push up the date because he wanted it, everything was just easy." She swallowed. "But there was no passion. I felt more passion on the night of the blackout and when we went undercover as Gabe and Eddie. I'm so sorry. I hurt so many people. I hurt him, I even hurt Jo because I knew that she wanted him back; she practically told me that she was going to fight to get him. But most of all, I'm sorry for hurting you." She looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"It's okay Andy. Everything works out in the end. You're awesome."

"Because I took you down and you're awesome. Are you ever going to let that one go?"

"Nope." He smiled, letting his dimples show. "But you should just know that you are awesome in your own right. Taking me down just makes you more awesome."

Andy rolled her eyes and then sighed, abruptly changing the topic. "Sam, I really don't feel well."

"So sleep Andy. I'll be right here."

She sighed and shifted slightly. "Sam, can you, would you..." she trailed off and patted the bed.

Sam sighed. "Only you McNally, only you." He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

She snuggled close to his chest. "I missed this," she murmured as sleep overtook her.

Sam held her close as the last of his fear dissipated. She might not remember what she said and he knew that they still had a long road ahead of them to get back to where they were but he knew that they would fight to the finish and survive as a couple.

Dreams of the future filled him as he drifted off, based on previous events.

_Flashforward_

_He woke and reached out for her but she was gone. A small smile lit up his face as he pushed himself out of bed. He hated the fact that she was so miserable but he couldn't help but smile at the fact._

_He padded to the guest bathroom and gently tapped on the door before entering. "This is ridiculous, you know. There's no reason for you to go to the guest bathroom. There's more room on the floor in our bathroom."_

_Andy pushed herself away from the bowl. "I didn't want to wake you."_

"_Because that's working really well." He scooped her up and brought her into the master bedroom. "I've been up every morning anyway." He set her down on the bed._

_Andy was about to answer when her hand suddenly flew to her mouth. She bolted to the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach. "Don't you dare do that again," she hissed when her stomach stopped heaving. She leaned heavily against the bathtub. _

_Sam sighed. "Then stop going to the guest bathroom."_

"_I didn't want you to wake up to me being sick," Andy muttered quietly._

_Sam knelt in front of her and lifted her chin so she was forced to face him. "We're in this together. It's okay if you wake me up, it's okay if you tell me not to come into the bathroom when you're being sick. But stay in the master bedroom so that you can call for me if there is a real problem."_

_Andy nodded in agreement and let him take care of her. He helped her clean up and then gently rubbed her stomach. "Hey baby, stop making your Mommy so miserable in the morning."_

_End Flashforward_

* * *

**_Hour 23 - Sam_**

Sam woke as the doctor walked into the room. He smiled at Sam. "I see you're comfortable."

Sam sighed. "Sorry. She asked."

The doctor shrugged. "No worries. Everything looks good. This should be the last time you have to wake her. Next time she'll probably wake on her own."

Sam nodded.

"Any concerns?"

"Just that she was vomiting before and I want to make sure that she's okay."

The doctor wrote a note and nodded. "As long as it doesn't happen repeatedly it is fine. In terms of her memory?"

Sam smiled. "I think I got more out of her than I would have had she not had the concussion."

The doctor smiled. It happened sometimes with patients on morphine...it always gave the family some relief and he was happy to see that Sam was calmer than when Andy was first brought it. "I'll leave you to wake her again. Page me if there's an issue."

Sam waited for him to leave and then slipped into the chair next to the bed. He didn't know how she would react to him in the bed with her and he wasn't about to find out. Despite his calm from her last wake up call, she had the power to utterly destroy him if she freaked out. He wasn't ready for a confrontation. "McNally?" He waited a few seconds. "Andy? You need to wake up."

Andy opened one eye. "Are you ever gonna call me sweetheart again or is it always gonna be Andy or McNally?"

_Flashback_

_He opened the door with the key she gave him. "Sorry I'm late." He came into the kitchen and walked behind her, wrapping her in a hug._

"_This is why people shouldn't date cops," she murmured as she turned in his arms. "They're always late."_

"_I thought you said that you don't date cops," he teased._

"_Yeah, well you're the one who said 'sweetheart, you're not my type' - I'm not your type, huh?"_

"_Is that so sweetheart?" he teased back. The word slipped from his mouth before he could think about it but the blush on her cheeks was telling._

_After that incident, he would call her 'sweetheart' from time to time, normally when he woke her for work. Especially after she said that she loved him, they both knew that sweetheart was his term of affection as he battled with himself to say the three words she needed to hear, even if she claimed she didn't._

_End Flashback_

"I didn't know I still had the right to sweetheart." His heart swelled at her comment, he'd never gone through so many emotions in such a short period of time but Andy could do that to him. "I need you to open your eyes to answer some questions."

She opened her eyes. "Sam? When can I get out of here? I hate hospitals."

"I know. Probably in the morning."

"Will you stay with me? I know I have no right to ask."

Sam nodded. It looked like his question would go on hold. Still, he was happy that she was talking to him. "You have every right to ask. I told you that I was going to make it up to you and I'm going to Andy. I promise."

"So does this mean we're getting a dog named Boo?"

"If you want a dog, we'll get a dog."

Andy grinned at him. "I want to get a dog. And I want to name the dog Boo. And at some point, we're gonna think about a family so I want the dog to be a kid friendly dog."

Sam smirked. Technically she had only given him one fact so far but this conversation was far more interesting than his prompt idea about going undercover with Nick and finding out her take on the Gail and Nick saga. He knew that he would be able to ask her about it when she was really awake, he just thought she'd be a little more forthcoming about Nick now.

"Okay Andy. We can do that."

A small smile lit her face. "But we have to go slowly."

"Slowly?" Sam realized that she had totally turned the tables on him, not that he really minded. He was just happy that she was talking to him.

"Yeah. No more running out first thing in the morning. You need to talk to me. It's a two way street. You offered to cook; you offered to take out my garbage. But you also said you'll do whatever it takes. That means you need to talk to me. The garbage is all yours. But I like to cook sometimes and I want to be equal partners. But you need to talk to me."

Sam nodded. He knew that winning her back was going to involve talking. "Okay. How about this for now. I love you. I have for a long time, so long that I can't pinpoint when it happened. I thought I would hate you when I met you but you changed me Andy. You changed my life for the better." He kissed the top of her forehead.

"Kay," she murmured. "Sam? Will you come to yoga with me?"

Sam bit back a laugh. "Anything Andy. If you want me to come to yoga with you, I'll try it. I'll try anything for you. Well...anything except for karaoke night at the Penny."

Andy shifted against him before wrapping her arms around his neck, obviously remembering their last karaoke conversation. She pulled him down and kissed him. "Thank you Sam. Thank you for being here. Thank you for not giving up on me, even when I kept screwing up as a rookie."

Sam gave her a gentle peck on the lips. He didn't get the sudden seeming change in topic but he wasn't going to complain. Instead, he set out to reassure her. "You didn't screw up more than any other rookie, your screw-ups just ended up being more dangerous. And part of that falls on me, I was your TO."

"Not your fault," she started to drift off.

Sam settled her down on the bed, trying to pull away. She pulled him down onto the bed.

Andy snuggled against him. "Sam?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think that moving slowly we'll eventually get to the next step?"

"You mean marriage? Yes Andy, I do think that we'll get there eventually. You're it for me."

"Like elephants."

Sam raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. He had a feeling that the reference had something to do with Traci and Jerry since Traci muttered 'you made me an elephant' every once in a while when she glanced at the picture of Jerry that she kept on her desk.

Andy sighed. "Just do me one favor. Don't propose on a knife," she murmured, drifting off. Sam grinned. Jerry had been so excited about the knife - and he had laughed when Andy told him that Traci didn't even notice right away.

Sam waited until she was fully out of it before prying her hands away and climbing out of the bed. She shifted slightly but stayed asleep.

Sam knew it was only a matter of time now before she woke up for real. He was wide awake, thanks to the nap he had with her. He pulled out more work and settled down to wait for her to wake again. As much as he wanted to hold her, he wasn't sure what she would remember when she woke and he didn't want her to panic if she was in his arms.

* * *

_A while later..._

Andy opened her eyes. She was disoriented for a second and then she realized that she was in the hospital. She vaguely remembered something about the undercover op being over and Sam being with her but the rest of the details were fuzzy. She turned her head and saw Sam in the chair next to her, working on paperwork.

She was happy to see him, especially after months of separation. She shifted slightly and he looked up. "Hey sweetheart," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Sam," she whispered, reaching for his hand. She was secretly thrilled that he called her sweetheart. She wasn't sure that he would ever call her that again.

Sam stood and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his own. With his other hand, he grabbed a cup of water. "Drink." He waited for her to drink. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, a little disoriented."

Sam sighed. "That's what happens when you're exhausted and you land yourself with a concussion."

Andy groaned. "Great. Just my luck that I'd land in the hospital with a concussion instead of celebrating my return with my friends."

"They all popped in today. Besides, you and Nick will have a few days off to sleep and get reacclimated. You're not missing anything really."

She looked at him, really looked at him. He looked like he had lost weight and there seemed to be exhaustion present in his eyes. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"No. Traci came by and practically kicked me out for a few hours but I've been here for most of the times where I had to wake you up."

"Have you?" she tried to be nonchalant about it but the fact that he had been there spoke volumes, especially with him.

"Yep, it was very enlightening to say the least. Who knew that one word could set you off."

Andy shrugged. "Whatever." She paused as she really processed what he said. She wondered if him calling her sweetheart had something to do with it. "Wait...what did I say?"

* * *

A.N. Yup! I'm ending it right here - use your imagination to decide what Sam tells her.

Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.


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